I am.

Whatever it takes
I will wait until my dying day
Just come back to me 
- Trading Yesterday

"Finally."

The young chief of Berk breathed with a sigh of relief. Standing on board of his finest drakkar, he fixed his eyes on a crowd, spreading along the coast. Every once in a while, his ears were approached by his men's shouts, as they were unloading their ships after the long journey. The longest journey he'd ever attended in his entire twenty-three year long life.

He saw some children, joyfully running around the harbour, welcoming their parents with a squeal; he observed their faces, full of anticipation. How had it been? What had happened? Had they had any adventures they could tell them about now?

Hiccup smiled. They've been gone for way too long.

He felt a soft nudge on his hip. As he looked back, he noticed his four-legged friend, almost jumping out of excitement, gazing around and peeking at him with delight. Apparently, the Vikings were not the only ones who'd missed their home. He pat his mount on the neck.

"Yes, bud. We're back."

"And you are still here." He raised his head when Snoutlout's voice reached him. "I thought you'd flown away as soon as we passed the Dragon Island. What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you don't break anything." answered he with a joke. "Come on, you know I can't leave it like that."

"And you obviously don't want to go home, huh?" His companion raised his eyebrows in a derisive grimace. Hiccup inhaled, intending to rebuff the argument – and then abandoned the idea. He knew that he couldn't have done that and Snotlout was just as aware of accuracy of his remark. Of course, he wanted to go home. Like never before.

Once again, he cast a glance at the Vikings, bustling about their tasks in the harbour and thought, that they really could do their job a bit faster. He shook his head, amused with his own expectations and then pointed to his friend:

"You'd better leave your comments for another time. Remember, Snotlout – duties first."

Honestly surprised, young Jorgenson raised his eyebrows even higher. And then it clicked.

"You simply know she'll be here!" cried he and then, seeing a smile on his Chief's face, added:

"She is here already, isn't she?"

Hiccup couldn't resist laughing, while observing his friend's thinking process. There was only one answer he could give.

"Of course she is."

Some could say that the confidence he spoke with wasn't fully justified. After all, he still hadn't seen her yet. But he felt, no, he knew she was there. Somewhere on the shore, among other habitants of Berk, she was waiting for him. She had to be.

"Just a moment, Astrid. A few more minutes and I'll finally be free to leave this lousy ship."

The Rider turned around to watch the harbour. He'd lost count on how many times he'd done that, searching for the only face he wished to see. Oh gods, please let it end.

He heard Snotlout clearing his throat to draw his chief's attention. He glanced at him.

"But you know, you kinda screwed it up anyway. You could've surprised her when no one was expecting us. It would be nicer than greeting one another in such a mess, right?"

"To the point, Snotlout."

"What do you mean 'to the point'? I'm just saying that because of sitting here, you actually lost a perfect opportunity to finally impress Astrid. Maybe you could do that at least this once." The short Viking giggled.